Apple displeased with DOJ e-book court order proposal

In July, a federal judge ruled that Apple Inc. conspired to fix e-book prices. In light of this, on Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed a court order to regulate Apple's sale of e-books from now on, and Apple was not pleased with it. The company actually called the proposal “draconian and punitive” in its court filing response.

The proposal asked the judge to order Apple to cancel agreements it has with five publishers, and to appoint someone to monitor Apple's antitrust compliance for the next 10 years. This would force Apple to figure out a new way to negotiate with publishers and presumably make the e-book market more competitive.

“Under the department’s proposed order, Apple’s illegal conduct will cease, and Apple and its senior executives will be prevented from conspiring to thwart competition in the future,” Bill Baer, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's antitrust division, said in a statement.

“Plaintiffs propose a sweeping and unprecedented injunction as a tool to empower the government to regulate Apple’s businesses,” Apple's court filing reads.

There is a hearing scheduled for Aug. 9 to approve or reject the proposal.